


The Languages of Love

by doodles357



Category: Andi Mack (TV)
Genre: Cute, Falling In Love, First Relationship, Fluff, Love, M/M, Pure Unadulterated Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-23
Updated: 2019-10-06
Packaged: 2020-09-24 18:16:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 19,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20362930
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doodles357/pseuds/doodles357
Summary: People express love in different ways, beyond just telling each other that they love one another. There are five love languages that speak to the variety of ways to tell someone that they are loved. As they start their new relationship, Cyrus and TJ are learning how to speak them all.





	1. Words of Affirmation

**Author's Note:**

> Over the past week or so, I kept hearing about the love languages from lots of different places, and I figured it was the universe trying to tell me something, so I did a little research and decided to turn it into a fic. Each chapter will focus on one the different languages, and they'll be divided into little vignettes. This will pick up a few weeks after the bench scene, and will cover the end of eighth grade and into high school.

_ Words of Affirmation: _

It had only been a few weeks since they had started dating. After Andi’s party, Cyrus and TJ had slowly figured out the state of their relationship. At first, they kept it to themselves as they sorted through their feelings, and TJ became more comfortable with the idea of telling people. Eventually, Cyrus told his friends that the two of them had gotten together, which resulted in a decent amount of celebration from the girls and an affirmative, “Cool, man” from Jonah.

However, outside of their small circle of friends, nobody else knew. Cyrus was planning on coming out to his parents, but TJ wasn’t quite there yet. Cyrus was more than okay with keeping things low key though; he knew how scary it was to tell people, and he didn’t want to push TJ into something he wasn’t comfortable with yet. He also wasn’t sure if he was ready for the entire school to know either. For the time being, he was okay with keeping things with TJ just between them and the few people he knew he could trust.

Even though they weren’t proclaiming their relationship to the word, they were still actively in one, and it was a learning experience for both of them. Cyrus had the little dating experience from when he and Iris had been together, but that seemed almost as though it had happened years ago. Plus, he and TJ had a very different type of relationship from what he had with Iris. With her, it had been romantic from the very beginning, so all the expectations of a romantic relationship were there. But with TJ, they had started out as friends, and now they were transitioning into a romantic relationship. 

Cyrus knew that, at least from his perspective, he still felt a little odd at times. Back when he had a crush on TJ, he often felt the desire to reach out and hold TJ’s hand or tell him that he looked cute, but he had to restrain himself, since he knew it wasn’t something that guys usually did with one another. But now that they were dating, he could do those things if he wanted. However, his brain would still panic slightly, with the old fear kicking in, telling him that he should be careful and that he shouldn't get too close to TJ, or say something that might sound flirty.

He knew that it was just something he would have to work through. TJ  _ liked him _ . Like, wanted to hold his hand and go on dates with him. It still boggled his mind, even though it was something that he had wanted for quite a while. And when they were sitting next to each other at the Spoon, TJ would intertwine their fingers on the seat between them, or drape his arm casually across the back of the bench, fingertips grazing Cyrus’ shoulder. When they walked together in the school hallway, their shoulders bumped constantly, with barely any space between the pair. TJ had been pretty touchy before they had started dating, but now it was upped to a new level.

He also began to notice TJ looking at him more often. Which sounded weird, when he thought about it. Or maybe he was just noticing now that he knew there was a reason for it. A little part of him felt self-conscious; he knew he wasn't necessarily considered conventionally attractive like TJ was. He definitely wasn't tall, in shape, or any of the other qualities that he would assign to other guys. In fact, there was a small voice in his head that often questioned what TJ found attractive about him - if anything. But he was definitely not brave enough to ask, and he was worried that he wouldn’t like the answer that he received.

One cold, Saturday morning, he met TJ at a little cafe for breakfast. It was a place that TJ had discovered, and they had actually gone their on their first date. It was a cozy place that offered little booths and tables tucked away into corners, where they had some privacy. While nothing would replace the Spoon in Cyrus’ heart, he enjoyed the change of scenery, and it wasn't as frequented by their classmates as the other restaurant. Plus, they served enormous muffins, which definitely made it appealing.

TJ was already there, sitting at a little table near the back. He waved at Cyrus when he spotted him, grinning broadly. Cyrus could feel the matching smile spreading across his face at the sight of his boyfriend.

_ Boyfriend _ . It still made his heart flutter a bit, knowing that the word finally belonged to him.

“Hey,” he said, sliding into the seat across from TJ. He began peeling his winter coat off. “Have you been waiting long?”

“Nah, I only got here a few minutes ago,” TJ said. “Just wanted to beat the gray haired crowd.”

Cyrus laughed. They had noticed that the cafe tended to attract quite a few elderly customers. The waitress came over to take their order - a hot chocolate and chocolate chocolate chip muffin for Cyrus, and a cappuccino and blueberry muffin for TJ - before they were able to really delve into a conversation. 

“Do you really like the color green? Because it seems like you have a lot of shirts in that color,” TJ asked Cyrus suddenly, distracting the other boy from the rant he was about to embark upon against his history teacher. He looked down at the shirt he was wearing. It was a dark green, long-sleeved sweater. 

“I guess so?” Cyrus said, trying to think through his wardrobe. “I mean, I like the color. I never really realized that I had a lot of shirts that were the same.”

“I like it,” TJ told him. “It looks really good on you.”

Cyrus was pretty sure his brain short-circuited for a moment, and he could feel the blush creeping up into his cheeks. It was the first time TJ had directly complimented his appearance, and he hadn’t been prepared for it. 

“Th-thanks,” he managed to stammer out, and TJ flashed him a soft grin. Should he say something back? There were plenty of ways that he could compliment TJ in return, but he didn’t trust his mouth and brain to work together in that moment. But before he could say anything, the waitress returned with their drinks and interrupted them. 

TJ switched the conversation over to a movie they had gone to see the weekend before, and Cyrus was saved from potentially embarrassing himself. But he couldn't get TJ’s words out of his mind, and he made a mental note to try and incorporate green into his wardrobe more often.

\----

“Ugh, why is this so difficult?” Cyrus complained, flopping onto his bed dramatically, a few days later. TJ just chuckled at him as he settled himself into Cyrus’ desk chair, flipping it so he was leaning his chest against the backrest, arms resting on the top.

“What’s the problem?” he asked.

“History class, that’s what,” Cyrus said. “We got our big end-of-semester assignment, and I have no idea what to do.”

“What’s it about?” TJ asked.

“Anything,” Cyrus replied.

“That’s very broad,” TJ said with a raised eyebrow. Cyrus sighed heavily again and sat up.

“We have to pick a topic and create some sort of project around it. Basically, pick something that happened throughout history and track it from beginning to present day.”

“Wow,” TJ said. “Did your teacher give you any examples of what you can do? That could cover basically anything.”

“Yeah,” Cyrus replied. “It’s supposed to be something like a movement or a law that is continually challenged, Something that we could track pretty easily. Like women’s rights or civil rights. But a lot of people are doing those already, and I wanted to do something different. The problem is, I have no idea what.”

“Hmm,” TJ mused. He thought about it for a minute, tossing around some historical topics in his mind. Then it came to him in a flash.

“What if you did the gay rights movement?” he asked. “You know, start with Stonewall and then go from there.”

Cyrus’ eyes grew wide as he considered it. “That’s an amazing idea!” he exclaimed, shooting off his bed and grabbing his laptop. 

TJ chuckled in amusement at his boyfriend’s excitement. “I can’t believe you didn’t think of it first.”

Cyrus looked up and flashed him a giant grin that - had he been standing - would have made TJ’s knees go weak. 

“You’re so smart,” he said to TJ. “I probably would have never figured it out without you.” He resumed his frantic Googling, not realizing the effect his words had on his boyfriend.

TJ was pretty sure that was the first time anyone had told him he was smart and genuinely meant it. His classmates seemed to assume he was a dumb jock, and a lot of the time, his teachers did as well, even though he generally got pretty good grades (aside from math). And considering the amount of times that he had made poor decisions in his life, he had begun to believe that he wasn’t very smart either.

But coming from Cyrus, he knew that it was genuine. And it filled him with a sense of warmth and even pride that he was able to come up with a good idea and help his boyfriend out.

\---

While Cyrus was a mixture of excited and sad about eighth grade ending, he knew that he wanted to spend as much time with his friends as he could before things changed with high school. One of the exciting things was that as eighth graders, they got some special privileges as the end of the year grew closer. This included a class trip, and getting out of school a few days earlier than the younger grades. However, he had not counted on Metcalf and his weird ideas.

When the announcement came out that the eighth graders would have a Field Day during one of their last days of school, Cyrus was not nearly as excited as the rest of his classmates. Field Day events usually involved running, balancing, and just general coordination. While he wasn’t quite as unathletic as he used to be, he definitely wasn’t going to be able to run with his leg tied to someone else’s, or balance an egg on a spoon. 

Then the announcement of the prize made it even worse - a $50 gift card to The Spoon. Of course, it was something he would actually have wanted, but had no chance of ever getting. Plus, it was something that most people also really wanted, which meant that the competition was going to be fierce. And usually, when these sorts of events took place, he and Andi would pair up, since she was similarly unathletically inclined and wasn't really that competitive. But Metcalf, being Metcalf, decided to announce Field Day the day of, and gather everyone in the athletic field to kick things off.

Cyrus had no idea where his friends were in the crowd, and even if there were people he was friendly with, he knew that no one would want to partner with him. His lack of athletic ability was well-known, and everyone really wanted the gift card. He resigned himself to waiting it out and seeing who was left after everyone had partnered up. There were likely a few people who didn’t care about winning, and he could possibly snag one of them as a partner. He would honestly rather just sit it out, but he had a feeling Metcalf would be forcing everyone to participate.

He slowly drifted to the sidelines as he watched people calling out to their friends and rushing to find a good partner. Logically, he knew that his friends would have his back - even Buffy would have partnered with him, rather than leave him out - but it was impossible to find anyone in the chaos. And since most of his friends were pretty athletic and competitive, he figured they would be looking for partners that could help them win. 

To his surprise, he felt a tap suddenly on his shoulder. Turning, he found TJ standing behind him, grinning.

“Wanna be partners?” his boyfriend asked.

“Don’t you want to win?” Cyrus countered in surprise. TJ was one of the most competitive people he knew.

TJ just shrugged. “Eh, it’s just Field Day. Not that high on my list of important events.”

“I’m going to be terrible,” Cyrus said. It wasn’t like TJ was unaware of his lack of athletic ability. But he didn’t get why the other boy would want to be dragged down during activities that he would normally excel at.

“I don’t care,” TJ said cheerfully. “I want to be partners with you.”

“I was figuring no one did, since everyone wanted to win,” Cyrus said, trying to sound like it didn’t bother him, and he was in on the joke. TJ’s face turned serious at the comment.

“I  _ always  _ want to be partners with you,” he said. “You’re my first choice now, for everything.”

“Really?” Cyrus asked, feeling slightly off balance at the earnest look on TJ’s face. 

“Of course,” his boyfriend said, reaching forward to capture Cyrus’ hand in his own, causing the other boy to take a sharp breath.

They hadn’t held hands in public yet. At least, they hadn’t done so at school. Cyrus had gotten to the point where he was wearing a rainbow pin on his bag and would answer honestly if someone asked him if he was gay, but TJ had been struggling more with coming out to everyone. And Cyrus had been okay with that. But now, here they were, standing on the athletic field, surrounded by their classmates, holding hands.

TJ’s hand was shaking. Cyrus hadn’t noticed it at first, but now he could tell. But as nervous as his boyfriend was, he didn’t let go. It was a huge gesture, and it wasn’t lost on Cyrus. He smiled widely up at TJ, and squeezed his hand in reassurance. TJ smiled back, and together they headed over to where the first event was being held, not letting their hands drop. 

Predictably, Cyrus was terrible at pretty much every event. While he enjoyed the three-legged race for the fact that he and TJ got to be pressed closely together the entire time, he almost sent them toppling to the ground several times. The sack races were equally terrible, and Cyrus was ready to set his on fire by the end of it. He broke his egg before he even took one step forward, and he got immediately soaked during the water balloon toss.

But he found that he didn’t care. He was having way too much fun and it didn’t even bother him that he was losing terribly during the different events. TJ had a way of making everything seem more fun than usual, and Cyrus spent more time laughing hysterically than he would have normally. TJ didn’t seem to care when Cyrus messed up, and he took every mistake with a shrug. 

In one event though, Cyrus shocked everyone, including himself. He had always been fairly good at Hula Hooping when he was little, and was pleased to see that he still had the knack for it. However, it came as a great surprise when he looked up at one point and found that he was the only one still going. He could have stopped at that point, since it was clear he was the winner, but TJ had started cheering loudly for him and proclaiming that their team was the best one. When the Hula Hoop finally dropped to his feet, Cyrus’ face was bright red, but he also had a giant grin on his face.

At the end of the day, everyone gathered to find out the winner. TJ and Cyrus settled themselves onto the grass, and Cyrus scooted over so that he was leaning against his boyfriend. He gave TJ a quick questioning look, and after receiving an affirmative one, he settled his head on TJ’s shoulder.

Metcalf got up in front of them and gave a speech about the importance of teamwork and cooperation and how the day was meant to give them a chance to spend time together before they all went off to high school. Considering the fact that he barely saw the rest of his friends the entire day, Cyrus wasn’t completely convinced. But finally, Metcalf announced the winning pair. 

To no one’s surprise, Buffy was one of the winners. However, Cyrus was a little surprised to see that she hadn’t partnered with Marty like he had assumed. Instead, she had teamed up with Kaitlyn from the basketball team. Later, he would find out that she and Marty had been trying to compete against each other, and she had ultimately come out on top.

Cyrus cheered loudly when she accepted the award, especially since he knew he would get to share in it later. Sure enough, they gathered at The Spoon with Kaitlyn and some of her friends as well. They ended up having to push some tables together to make room for everyone. As they settled into their seats, TJ slung his arm across the back of Cyrus’ chair, which he happily snuggled into. Buffy shot a look at the two of them, but didn’t say anything out loud. Cyrus knew that she’d be interrogating him later one what had changed as far as them going public, but for the moment, he just relaxed and enjoyed the free food with his friends.

\---

Once they had gotten into the swing of things in high school, their group of friends was able to establish a routine of sorts. This included meeting up every morning in the library to chat and hang out before classes started. They had been there for a good fifteen minutes one morning when Cyrus realized that TJ hadn’t shown up yet. He shot a quick text to his boyfriend, asking if he was sick or not coming to school for some reason. He didn’t get an answer before the bell rang though, and he was a little worried about why TJ hadn’t answered him. 

In between first and second period, he finally caught sight of his boyfriend at his locker. He almost missed him completely, because TJ had his hood pulled up over his head.

“Hey,” Cyrus said, jogging over to greet him. “Where were you this morning?”

TJ turned and gave him a rueful smile. “Overslept,” he replied. “I woke up like, twenty minutes ago to my mom calling me and freaking out because the school called to ask where I was.”

“Are you sick?” Cyrus asked in concern.

“Nah, I just forgot to set my alarm,” TJ said with a sigh. “But I had to sprint out the door this morning.”

Cyrus eyed the hood. “What’s up with that?”

TJ glanced up and sighed. “I didn’t get time to do my hair.”

Cyrus’ eyebrows shot up in interest. Despite how long they had known each other and how long they had been dating, he had never seen TJ sans hair gel. It was like his hair magically supplied it every day. The hood was pulled low enough that he couldn’t see any of TJ’s hair.

“You know your teachers aren’t going to let you keep it up,” he said teasingly, leaning against the lockers. TJ sighed deeply. He then made the mistake of looking over at Cyrus who had put on his best puppy dog eyes.

“It looks terrible,” TJ mumbled half-heartedly, but he pushed the hood back regardless. 

His hair, normally slicked back with precision, hung loose and floppy in his eyes. It was the most relaxed Cyrus had ever seen his boyfriend’s hair look. 

“Wow,” Cyrus said. TJ looked away, reaching to pull his hood back on.

“No, don’t!” Cyrus said, stopping him. “It looks really nice that way.”

“It does?” TJ asked, sounding disbelieving.

“Absolutely,” Cyrus affirmed. “I think it looks really cute.”

TJ didn’t blush easily, but Cyrus caught the pink flooding into his cheeks.

“All right, if you say so,” he said, somewhat gruffly. Cyrus giggled and reached up to brush a hand through the loose locks that were hanging down, causing TJ to blush even darker.

“You should definitely wear it like this more often,” he said. As the bell rang, he leaned up to kiss his boyfriend on the cheek. “I’ll see you at lunch.”

Every time Cyrus saw his boyfriend after that, his hood was down, and he took any teasing about his hair from their other friends with good grace. Cyrus had to resist the urge to play with TJ’s hair, since it was finally free from the gel. He managed to restrain himself though, and he began to notice, over the next few weeks, that TJ didn’t use quite as much product in his hair. He wasn’t sure where the insecurity with how his hair looked had started, but he was glad TJ was feeling better about how his hair looked naturally.

Plus, it meant he did get to play with TJ’s hair without getting his hands full of gel. 


	2. Quality Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The timeline for this is going to jump around a little bit, but all the sections will be either during the second half of eighth grade or their freshman year of high school. I'll try and make it clear when these events are happening, but some will just work better at different points in their relationship, which is why it isn't in perfect sequential order.

_ Quality Time: _

Even though Cyrus knew that, theoretically, he would be busy in high school, he didn’t realize how much of a shift it would be from middle school. Not only were their classes harder, and required more time spent on homework and assignments, it seemed like everyone was busy with a million different activities as well.

Most of his friends were athletic, which meant practices and games after school quite often. Jonah had joined band, Amber had the dance team, and Andi was already hard enough to hang out with since she went to an entirely different school. And Cyrus had joined the school musical, working behind the scenes. It was fun, and while he was glad that his friends were pursuing their interests, it made it a lot harder to hang out with everyone. And he knew that within the next year or so, it was likely that those of them who didn’t have jobs yet would be getting those as well. 

TJ, of course, had decided to play a different sport every season, and he still had his job at the gym. Between his busy schedule and Cyrus’, they had found it hard to find time to go on dates. Sure, they had lunch together, and they usually ended up at The Spoon most weekends, and they were constantly texting when apart, but it seemed like they rarely got to see each other anymore.

Cyrus knew that it would only get harder the older they got, and he tried to make sure that they had time to spend together. They were still pretty limited on what they could do for dates, since they weren’t old enough to drive yet, but that didn’t mean that they couldn’t enjoy doing things in town. 

On one rare free Saturday, he found himself going over to TJ’s house. His boyfriend had texted him to see if he wanted to hang out, and he had happily replied with an affirmative. When he got there, TJ’s mom told him to head downstairs. As he descended into the basement, he started to hear the gentle notes of music coming from a piano. When he got to the bottom of the stairs, he was greeted by the sight of his boyfriend sitting at the piano, completely concentrated on what he was playing. 

Cyrus paused for a moment, taking in the view. TJ’s hair was loose, framing his face, and he was dressed casually in pajama bottoms and a long-sleeved shirt. His focus was entirely on the piano and the notes that were cascading out as his long fingers danced over the keys. Cyrus didn’t recognize the song, but it was beautiful, and he let it wash over him as he watched TJ play. 

As the song came to a conclusion, TJ finally glanced up and looked surprised to see Cyrus standing there.

“Sorry, I didn’t see you,” he said, looking a little embarrassed as he brushed a lock of hair out of his eyes.

“No, that’s fine,” Cyrus said. “I was enjoying the music.” He walked over to TJ and sat down on the bench next to him. To his surprise, there was no sheet music.

“What were you playing?” he asked. TJ looked a little sheepish.

“Just something I came up with,” he explained. 

“You wrote that?” Cyrus asked in shock. 

“Yeah, I was just messing around,” TJ said, rubbing the back of his neck. “It’s not that good.”

“Are you kidding?” Cyrus demanded. “That sounded beautiful!”

“You think?” TJ asked, looking somewhat hopeful.

“Of course,” Cyrus said. “I could never even dream of doing something like that. I mean, besides the obvious that I can’t play any instruments. Or read music.”

“It’s not that hard to play,” TJ said. “It just takes a lot of practice.”

“Can you show me?” Cyrus asked. He reached out and poked a key at random. 

“You really wanna learn?” TJ asked in surprise.

“Sure,” Cyrus said. “I can’t promise that I’ll be any good at it, but I can try.”

TJ grinned and then repositioned himself on the bench so that Cyrus could scoot over to the middle. He started explaining octaves and chords and Cyrus soon found his head spinning a bit. But then TJ told him that he’d teach him a simple song, since he didn’t have any sheet music on hand, and that learning to read music would probably be too much to start with. 

He grabbed Cyrus’ right hand and positioned onto some of the keys. He then gently placed his own hand on top of Cyrus’, and aligned their fingers.

“So, this is ‘E’,” he said, pressing Cyrus’ middle finger down twice. “Then ‘F,’ ‘G,’ ‘G’ again, back to ‘F,’ ‘E,’ ‘D,’ ‘C’ twice, ‘D,’ ‘E’ two times, and ‘D’ two times.”

His hand guided Cyrus’ as he read off the notes, and although it sounded a bit clunky, Cyrus realized that he vaguely recognized the tune.

“What am I playing?” he asked.

“Ode to Joy,” TJ replied. “It’s the first song I ever learned on the piano. And it’s a pretty easy one to remember.”

“Show me again?” Cyrus asked. It was only a few keys, and he was sure that if he messed around with it a few times, he would be able to play it on his own, but he liked the feeling of TJ’s hand on his, as well as how close in proximity they were sitting. 

TJ smiled at him, clearly having similar thoughts, and pressed Cyrus’ fingers down on the keys in the right order again. After running through it a few more times though, he had Cyrus try it on his own. It sounded somewhat stilted, especially after having heard the flowing melody that TJ had been playing earlier, but it was still recognizable and Cyrus was proud of himself.

“You’re a natural,” TJ said with a grin as Cyrus plonked out the last note.

“I had a pretty good teacher,” Cyrus replied, bumping shoulders with TJ teasingly. 

TJ’s smile grew even wider as they made eye contact, and Cyrus’ eyes fluttered shut as TJ leaned in for a kiss. They could have probably continued kissing for a while longer, but clattering noises from the kitchen reminded them that TJ’s mother was still relatively close by. Breaking apart from the kiss, both of them with flushed cheeks, they giggled slightly. 

“Play me something?” Cyrus requested, smiling winningly up at his boyfriend.

TJ’s smile was gentle as he replied, “Of course.”

His fingers began to move over the keys, and a soft, slow melody drifted over them. Again, it wasn’t something that Cyrus recognized, but he found it to be beautiful. He leaned gently against TJ, not wanting to get in the way of his arm movements, resting his head on his boyfriend’s shoulder, as he let the music wash over him. He didn't know if TJ had anything else planned for them to do that day, but in that moment, he didn’t care. All he wanted to do was sit there, and enjoy the music and his boyfriend’s company. 

\---

While TJ really liked his friend group, there were times that he found them to be just the tiniest bit overbearing. All he wanted to do was go on a date with Cyrus without being interrupted by someone else. If they went to the Spoon, Amber would not only come over to take their order, but sometimes plop down in the booth and strike up a conversation with Cyrus. Which she probably wasn’t supposed to be doing while on shift, but it never seemed to be a problem for her. Or if he mentioned something about going to see a movie with Cyrus, both Jonah and Marty had a tendency to invite themselves along. And if he was at Cyrus’ house (either one) there was about a fifty percent chance that Buffy or Andi or both of them would show up uninvited. And normally, TJ wouldn’t mind. But with their busy schedules, he found it hard to spend time just with Cyrus and no interruptions from anyone else. 

If there was one thing that TJ knew about his boyfriend, it was that he was a giant nerd. And he meant that in the nicest way possible - Cyrus was really smart, and he knew a lot of information about a lot of different subjects. Most of the time, when he got going about a topic, TJ had no idea what he was talking about. However, he found that he didn’t mind. An excited Cyrus meant lots of hand gestures, big words that he didn’t understand, and cute expressions on his face.

So, TJ knew that taking Cyrus to the science museum would involve all of the above. Plus, the museum was having a special dinosaur exhibit, which was one of the subjects that Cyrus was most passionate about. TJ had a passing appreciation for dinosaurs - he had enjoyed them as a kid - but he knew next to nothing about them the way his boyfriend did. But he knew that Cyrus would love the exhibit, and it would be a fun way for them to spend some time together. And best of all, none of their friends were interested in science enough to want to go to a museum for the whole day, so the chance of them being interrupted was pretty much nonexistent. 

TJ decided that he wanted to make it as much of a surprise as he could, since it was hard to do that with most of their dates. So he told Cyrus that he had something planned for them to do, but refused to elaborate on the details. Luckily, his boyfriend was a pretty good sport, and was happy to play along. As TJ’s mom drove them to the museum, the two sat in the backseat, and Cyrus attempted to guess where they were going.

“Is it the zoo?” he asked eagerly.

“Nope,” TJ replied. He hadn’t given Cyrus any clues, aside from the fact that it was far enough away that they had to drive.

“We’re not hiking, are we?” Cyrus asked, wrinkling his nose slightly. “Because I’m definitely not dressed for that.”

“No, I would have warned you,” TJ said, smiling. He also knew that Cyrus was not much of a hiker, so he wouldn’t have sprung that on his boyfriend.

“A...concert?” Cyrus continued.

“I don’t think concerts are usually held this early in the day,” TJ said with a teasing grin.

Cyrus groaned in frustration. “I don’t know! Stop being so mysterious!”

“But it’s so much fun!” TJ teased him. 

“Not for me,” Cyrus grumbled. He pretended to pout, but TJ knew him well enough by now to know he was just being over dramatic. He hid a smile though, as he mentally cataloged everything that Cyrus had just listed off. Aside from hiking, his boyfriend was giving him lots of ideas for future potential dates.

“The aquarium?” Cyrus asked, apparently not ready to give up.

“Not today,” TJ said.  _ And yet another idea. _

However, as they got closer to the museum, there started to be signs along the highway, and Cyrus’ eyes lit up when he spotted the first one advertising the museum. He turned to TJ, eyes wide, and TJ finally smiled and nodded.

“Yes!” Cyrus exclaimed. “I’ve been wanting to go to this!”

When they finally got there, they bid goodbye to TJ’s mother, who TJ promised to text when they were ready for her to pick them up. Cyrus grabbed TJ’s hand and all but dragged him into the museum in excitement. After a brief squabble about who would pay for tickets (TJ won), they headed inside. 

TJ let Cyrus take the lead, since he clearly knew what he was looking for. Chattering excitedly, Cyrus led them right to the dinosaur exhibit. As they walked through, TJ linked his fingers with Cyrus’, his favorite way to hold hands. With his free hand, Cyrus pointed out various different models of dinosaurs, listing off facts for each one. TJ was quickly overwhelmed with information, but he couldn't keep the smile off his face as he watched Cyrus beaming with happiness. 

They meandered through the exhibit, holding hands the entire time. TJ would have been content to walk around together like that the entire day. More than once, he found himself watching Cyrus as he talked, not taking in much of what his boyfriend was actually saying, but just enjoying the look of happiness and excitement on his face. He was a little biased, because he always thought Cyrus looked cute, but when he was talking passionately about something, he definitely looked the cutest.

Eventually, Cyrus decided that he wanted to check out some of the other exhibits aside from the dinosaurs, and they wandered around the museum, looking for anything of interest. TJ’s eyes lit up as he spotted a sign for the butterfly room.

“Let’s go in there!” he suggested. Cyrus, however, had a look of slight apprehension on his face.

“Are you scared of butterflies?” TJ asked him jokingly.

“No, not scared,” Cyrus said. “Just...uncomfortable.”

“Why’s that?” TJ asked in curiosity. He was used to Cyrus being scared of weird things, but butterflies was a new one.

“I just don’t like things flying around my head,” he explained. “But if you really want to go in - ”

“We don’t have to if you don’t want to,” TJ assured him.

“No!” Cyrus exclaimed, squaring his shoulders. “They’re just butterflies. Nothing scary about them. Let’s go!”

He grabbed TJ’s hand and started marching towards the room. TJ followed, shaking his head slightly at his boyfriend’s antics. He would have been fine passing the room up if Cyrus was truly uncomfortable with it, but his boyfriend seemed determined to face his fears.

When they entered, both of their gazes immediately went upwards to see all the colorful insects flapping above them. Cyrus drew a little closer to TJ, and TJ squeezed his hand reassuringly. As they walked further into the room, a few of the butterflies swooped closer to their faces. TJ paused and held his free arm out. Soon enough, a butterfly landed on his sleeve. 

“Whoa,” Cyrus breathed, moving a little closer to take a look at it. After a moment, it took off and flew away.

“Isn’t it cool?” TJ said. “I always love coming in here. It makes you feel like you’re a part of nature.”

“Yeah,” Cyrus agreed. He still looked a little apprehensive, but was a bit more relaxed than previously. Just then, a different butterfly swooped over and landed on his shoulder. He froze, eyes darting towards it.

“Hold still,” TJ breathed, letting go of Cyrus’ hand, which resulted in a slight squeak of alarm. He gently pulled his phone out of his pocket and opened the camera. Cyrus’ gaze was locked on the butterfly perched on his shoulder, but he still looked nervous.

“You look really cute,” TJ said, which caused Cyrus to blush slightly but smile. As soon as he did, TJ snapped a quick picture.

“Wow,” Cyrus said, still looking at the butterfly. Then it took off, its wing brushing across his cheek as it flew away. Cyrus let out a visible breath of relief. 

“That was really awesome,” TJ said, reaching out to grab Cyrus’ hand again. 

“It was,” Cyrus agreed. “Send me that picture so I have proof that I conquered my fears!”

TJ just laughed and agreed.

After they left the butterfly room, they decided to go get some lunch. In the museum cafe, they got some burgers and split an order of fries. They agreed to check out one more exhibit before texting TJ’s mom to come and get them. There was one that was interactive and allowed them to get hands on with things. They had a great time messing around in that area, playing with the different exhibits and trying out the variety of experiences.

TJ texted his mom right before they headed into the gift shop. While he wasn’t particularly interested in anything, he watched as Cyrus poured over all the different trinkets. He finally settled on a little figure of a butterfly, much like the one that had landed on him. TJ insisted on paying for it, stating that since it was his date, he was responsible. Cyrus only agreed if it meant he got to pay for everything on the next date.

When they were finally done for the day, they headed outside to wait for TJ’s mom. There was a bench outside the museum that they settled down on to wait. As they sat, Cyrus leaned over and rested his head on TJ’s shoulder. Their hands were still linked between them. 

“That was really fun,” Cyrus said. 

“Yeah?” TJ replied. “I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

“I did,” Cyrus said. “But then again, I’d enjoy anything that we do together.”

TJ couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face at that comment. He pressed a quick kiss to the top of Cyrus’ head, and felt his boyfriend smile at the gesture. They were both quiet on the ride home, tired out from the day, but both happy from the experience they got to share together. 

And that night, TJ posted the picture of Cyrus with the butterfly to his Insta, with nothing but heart emojis as the caption. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'Ode to Joy' is the only song I know how to play on the piano.


	3. Giving Gifts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I keep seeing love languages crop up everywhere in real life, and it's so weird. This chapter ended up a lot longer than I anticipated, so enjoy!

Giving Gifts: 

TJ could hardly believe that it had been almost six months since he and Cyrus had started dating. Sometimes it felt like it had been only yesterday that they had sat down on that bench together outside of Andi’s house and shakily reached out to grab hands. Other days, it felt like they had been together forever. Either way, TJ was incredibly happy that they had finally figured things out. The six months had seemingly flown by, and he had enjoyed every second of it. He couldn't wait to spend many more months - and hopefully years - with Cyrus. 

Over the past six months, they had slowly figured out how to be in a relationship. It was the first serious relationship either of them had been in (or in TJ’s case, the only relationship), and they were also still keeping it private. They were out to their close friends, and had individually come out to their parents, but that was about it. TJ had breached that a bit when he had held hands with Cyrus during Field Day, but in the craziness of the last few days of eighth grade and middle school, it hadn’t gotten much - or seemingly any - attention. 

After talking about it quite a bit, they had decided that they would officially come out to everyone. Since it was June, it meant that it was Pride month, and Bex and Bowie had agreed to take their friend group to a parade in a nearby town. TJ and Cyrus decided that they would take pictures at the event and then post those on social media as their official coming out. While both of them were a little nervous about it, they also were both ready to be open about their relationship.

It also happened that their six month anniversary was the day before the parade. While they had done something special on the other month anniversaries, it was usually just going on a date. They had decided that the parade would be their anniversary date, and while coming out together was going to be a huge deal in itself, as well as going to Pride for the first time, TJ still wanted to do something special for Cyrus.

He decided that he wanted to get something special for his boyfriend, but he was stumped on what. It needed to be meaningful, since it was an important milestone in their relationship, and it would be nice if it was something that could be related to pride as well. But he knew Cyrus already had a shirt picked out for the parade, and since they would be hanging around outside all day long, he didn’t want to get him something that would be cumbersome to carry around all day.

There was a seemingly endless number of pride related items that he could buy, but nothing stood out as being special or unique. He wanted it to be personal, but he was coming up blank. And with the date approaching, he was starting to panic slightly.

A few days before the weekend, he found himself at the Spoon with Andi. They were waiting for a few more of their friends to show up to go see a movie together. Out of everyone in the group, Andi was probably the person TJ had spent the least amount of time with. They didn’t have a ton in common, so he didn’t know what to really talk with her about. But since she was one of Cyrus’ best friends, he was trying to make an effort to get to know her better.

As they sat across from one another in a booth, he watched as she pulled various pieces of string and beads and other random objects out of her bag. He was pretty sure that he saw some soda pull tabs and paper clips in her pile. Taping the pieces of string to the table, she started weaving them together.

“What are you making?” he asked her. She paused slightly, considering it. 

“Maybe a bracelet. Or a necklace. I’m not really sure yet. It kind of depends on how long I can make it.”

He nodded, watching her progress, as she twisted the strings around, occasionally adding in beads and other pieces.

“Do you make these all for yourself, or others as well?” he asked.

“Well, I end up wearing a lot of it, but I give out things to other people when I can,” she said. “It’s an easy way to give someone a personal gift. The trick is to make it relatable to them.”

She looked up at him then. “Do you want to learn how?”

TJ shrugged. “Sure, I could give it a try. I don’t know how good I’ll be at it.” 

She scooted over on the bench and patted the seat next to her. He swung around to the other side of the table as she pulled even more string and tape out of her bag. TJ couldn’t help but wonder exactly how many art supplies she had tucked away in there. She pulled out a few pieces of string, tied the ends in some kind of knot, and then taped them to the end of the table.

“Here, I’ll walk you through how to make a basic one first,” she said, demonstrating it on her own. After a few twists, TJ found that it was actually pretty easy. While his definitely didn’t look as fancy as Andi’s did, it did start to resemble a bracelet. He also found that it was relaxing to work with the string. As he did so, his mind started to drift slightly and suddenly he had an idea.

“Do...you think Cyrus would like it if I made him a bracelet?” he asked Andi hesitantly. Her eyes lit up immediately. 

“Ooh, yes!” she exclaimed. “I think he would love it!”

“I mean, I’d probably have to practice a bit more,” he said. “But I wanted to give him something for our anniversary. And this is something kind of personal.”

“Yes, that is a great idea!” Andi said. “He would definitely love that. Do you know what color you want to do?”

“Well, since we’re going to pride, I was thinking maybe of making him a rainbow one?” TJ suggested. The look on Andi’s face was one of pure delight.

“Okay, you definitely have to,” she declared. “I don’t have it with me, but I do have the materials for this.”

Before they could discuss it much further, Buffy and Jonah showed up. Andi showed TJ how he could wrap his unfinished bracelet up so he could continue practicing on it later. She also promised him that she would get the materials for him to use for the other one as well. Buffy was looking curiously at them, but Andi waved her questioning look aside. TJ had a feeling they would be discussing his present later, but he didn’t care as long as Cyrus didn’t catch wind of it.

Andi met up with him the next day, armed with rainbow thread. She got him set up with starting the bracelet, and told him to text her if he had any questions or problems. He had been practicing the night before on the other one, and it had ended up looking fairly decent. Over the next two days, he worked diligently on the bracelet, well aware that the weekend was approaching rapidly. Finally, on Thursday afternoon, he reached the end of the thread and called Andi to ask her what to do next. She met him at the Spoon and added a clasp to the bracelet for him. 

Looking it over, TJ felt proud of what he had created. It was a pretty simple bracelet, with a rainbow of colors delicately woven together. TJ just hoped that Cyrus liked it. Andi reassured him once again that Cyrus would undoubtedly adore it. 

The plan was for them to head over to the other town early Saturday morning so that they could get parking and everything before the parade started. And even though Saturday was going to be their day of celebration, TJ and Cyrus decided to still do something together on Friday, since it was their actual anniversary date. 

They met up at the cafe that had become a favorite spot of theirs. They both ordered muffins, and something to drink. Settling into the table in the back corner, Cyrus started talking about how excited he was about pride the next day. TJ couldn’t help but smile at his boyfriend as he watched him gesture excitedly, almost knocking his iced coffee over in the process. He was excited about pride too, and he was so happy that they were going to be able to spend it together.

After they finished eating, they strolled over to the park, hand in hand. To TJ, it seemed like he could feel the bracelet weighing down his pocket, even though it was too light to actually do so. He had compulsively checked to make sure it was there at least eight times already. When they reached the park, Cyrus made a direct beeline to the swings. They swung for a while, laughing and goofing around. 

When they got tired of that, Cyrus flopped down under a nearby tree, laying in the soft grass. TJ sat down next to him, feeling uncharacteristically nervous about his gift. He knew that Cyrus would like it, but he was still worried that it would look dumb, or that it wouldn’t fit, even though Andi had assured him that she knew Cyrus’ measurements. 

“Hey,” he finally said, ready to get rid of his nerves. “I have something for you.”

Cyrus sat up in surprise. “Really?” he asked.

“Well, it’s our six month anniversary,” TJ explained. “I wanted to get you something.”

“Oh,” Cyrus said, looking touched. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“But I wanted to,” TJ insisted. He carefully dug the bracelet out of his pocket and presented it to Cyrus, whose eyes grew wide as he took it in.

“Teej,” he said softly, running a finger over it. “Wait, did you make this?” he asked in surprise.

“Andi helped me a bit,” TJ said with a sheepish shrug.

Cyrus slipped the bracelet over his wrist, and to TJ’s relief, it fit perfectly.

“I love it,” Cyrus said, looking up at TJ, his eyes swimming with emotion. He leaned forward and kissed TJ softly. 

“But I didn’t get you anything,” Cyrus said, frowning slightly as he realized.

“It’s okay,” TJ assured him. “I don’t need anything.” 

Cyrus smiled slightly, although TJ could tell from his expression that he didn’t agree. He hadn’t wanted to make Cyrus feel pressured to get him anything in return, but he had a feeling that might be happening now. 

The next day at pride, the whole crew was decked out head to toe in rainbow. Andi painted rainbow hearts and stripes on their faces, and Buffy handed out glittery temporary tattoos. The day was a blur of laughter and delight as they soaked up the sun and the cheerful atmosphere. TJ’s face hurt from smiling too much at the end of the day. 

That night, he flipped through the photos on his phone, feeling nothing but happiness and love. He had gotten tons of pictures, but his favorite was of him and Cyrus. He had his arm wrapped around the top of Cyrus’ shoulders and chest and he was pressing a kiss to Cyrus’ cheek. Cyrus’ hands were clasped around TJ’s arm, and they both were beaming with happiness. That was the one, he decided that he would use to tell the world how much he loved the boy he was with. 

\--

Cyrus was at the store with his mom, going back-to-school shopping, when he saw it. A dark blue, long-sleeved shirt with the etching of a gray basketball hoop on it. It was a pretty basic shirt, but as soon as he saw it, he knew it was something that TJ would like. Not only was it basketball themed, but it was a color that would look nice on him. He paused to consider it. 

“Is that something you wanted?” his mom asked him. He looked up in surprise.

“Not for me,” he said. “I was actually thinking it was something TJ would like. Maybe I should let him know it’s here.”

“Why don’t you just get it for him?” his mother suggested. Cyrus hesitated slightly as he considered the possibility. The incident with the Mint Chip shirt immediately sprang to mind. While he ultimately never gave TJ the shirt (it ended up in the hands of the police after they got arrested) the memory of clutching the shirt in his hand while watching TJ and Kira swing together left a bad taste in his mouth.

He knew now that it wasn’t what he had assumed, but it was hard to shake the negative connotations that came with the concept of giving TJ a shirt as a gift. He had been so concerned with how TJ would perceive it - Cyrus, giving him a shirt because it would look nice on him. It was a very boyfriend-y thing to do, and at the time, he still hadn’t known if TJ had feelings for him. And with their friendship in a precarious position because of Kira, he hadn’t wanted to give TJ any reason to feel uncomfortable around him.

But he was being silly. TJ _ was _his boyfriend. He could give him a shirt as a gift, and it wouldn’t weird him out. It was a nice thing to do. Cyrus looked down at the rainbow bracelet encircling his wrist and traced it gently with a finger. That had been a very personal gift, and TJ had put the time and effort in to make it for him. Buying him a t-shirt wasn’t even close to that. So, shaking off his old doubts and fears, Cyrus nodded at his mom and grabbed the shirt. Hoping that he had TJ’s size right, he added it to their cart.

Later that day, when he got home from shopping, he headed over to TJ’s house, the shirt wrapped up in a bag. When he got there, he headed to TJ’s room, where his boyfriend was sprawled out on his bed, flipping through a magazine.

“Hey,” Cyrus announced himself, settling down in TJ’s desk chair. TJ looked up from his magazine and smiled widely.

“How was shopping?” he asked, sitting up to face Cyrus.

“It was fine,” Cyrus shrugged. “Got some new clothes. I keep growing out of all my pants.”

TJ just laughed. “Soon you’ll be taller than all of us.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that,” Cyrus said. “I’m pretty sure Buffy’s going to force herself to keep growing, just so she can stay the tallest.”

They both laughed at that, and Cyrus brought the bag with the shirt up to rest in his lap.

“What’s that?” TJ asked, eyeing the bag curiously.

“I, uh, actually got something for you,” Cyrus said, fingering the bag nervously. Despite everything, he was still a little bit apprehensive. What if TJ didn’t like the shirt? What if he already owned it? He did own a ridiculous number of basketball-themed shirts, and there was a chance that this one was already in his collection - something he hadn’t considered until now.

“Really?” TJ’s eyes lit up. “What is it?”

“Well, when we were shopping, I saw it and thought of you.” Cyrus handed the bag over, and TJ pulled the shirt out. Shaking it out, he held it up to see what it was.

“Nice!” he exclaimed. “I love it!”

“You do?” Cyrus asked, feeling relieved.

“Of course,” TJ smiled at him. “I love basketball stuff.”

“I’ve noticed,” Cyrus replied, earning a tongue sticking out at him. “I was hoping you didn’t have this one yet.”

“Nope,” TJ said cheerfully, and then proceeded to whip off the shirt he was currently wearing in order to try on the new one. Cyrus was glad that TJ was preoccupied with looking at his reflection in the mirror to see how it looked, because he was pretty sure his face had turned bright red. 

“Perfect,” TJ declared, and Cyrus rose to get a better look at how it looked on him.

“Well, I’m glad you like it,” he said, hoping his face was its normal color again. 

“Thank you,” TJ said earnestly, turning to Cyrus. 

“Yeah, no problem,” Cyrus replied, sounding more casual than he felt. Even though it was a pretty basic shirt, the color complemented TJ well, and it made him feel good that his boyfriend did like the shirt he had picked out.

“At least this one didn’t get taken by the cops, huh?” TJ joked. Cyrus laughed in response, although he still felt a little weird about the situation. TJ had asked him about the other shirt, and Cyrus was almost glad that he had the police as an excuse. He had given the shirt to Jonah in a moment of jealousy and hurt, and considering how things had turned out, he was glad that the shirt had disappeared into the hands of the police. 

“I’m going to wear it every day!” TJ declared, breaking into Cyrus’ train of thought, and the statement was alarming enough to get Cyrus’ attention again.

“Okay...that’s kind of gross,” he said, wrinkling his nose. TJ laughed and pulled Cyrus into a hug, kissing the top of his head.

“Thanks,” he said, as Cyrus’ face turned red again at the attention. 

And while TJ didn’t wear the shirt every day (thankfully), every time he did wear it, Cyrus felt a little warm glow in his heart at the sight of his boyfriend wearing the shirt he had got for him.

\--

TJ had grown up with music. His parents were always listening to something around the house, and his mother had basically brought him up on the piano. Needless to say, he had accrued quite a collection of music for himself over the years. He had plenty of CDs from when he was younger, and now that records were back in style, he had inherited one of his dad’s old record players and started his own record collection.

But, like everyone else in his generation, most of his music was on his phone through his streaming app. And more than anything, he loved making playlists. Not only did he have playlists based on years and genres, but he had one for just about any mood or occasion. Two workout playlists (one for basketball, one for running), a feel-good playlist, a party one, a study one, a sleep one, seasonal ones, a sad one (which had gotten a lot of play time throughout middle school), and many more. Some of them he made public, as his friends appreciated them, but some he definitely kept private. 

There was one that he had started curating halfway through seventh grade. At first, he didn’t even name it - he just put a little ~ symbol as the title. He added a few songs, and would listen to it at night, laying in bed. He hadn't been ready to admit to himself what it was for. The songs he chose for it were pretty obvious, but he was still scared to admit why he had felt so drawn to those songs in the first place.

And then he started adding more songs. Songs that talked about crushes and having feelings for people, and that reminded him of...well, of one person in particular. And soon it started to seem like every song he heard made him think of that one person.

It was while he was lying in bed one night, listening to his playlist, and thinking about the success of teaching Cyrus how to do a somersault, when it finally hit him. Or at least, he finally acknowledged the feelings that he had been ignoring for so long. 

He liked Cyrus. 

As he let the song crash over him, he took it in. 

_Friends, I watched us as we changed_   
_ The feelings in my headspace rearranged  
I want you more than I've wanted anyone_

He liked Cyrus as more than a friend, and it scared and excited him at the same time. There was a part of him that had acknowledged a long time ago that he liked boys and not girls, but like so many other things in his life, he had simply ignored it. It was just another thing on the long list of things that made him different or that could make his life more difficult. And it didn’t matter, because even though he was attracted to boys, there wasn’t anyone that really mattered.

But now there was. He liked Cyrus so much that he didn’t know how to handle it. There was just something about the other boy that drew him in, and made him feel different. That made him want to be a better person.

After that night, and the revelation that he had, TJ was more open to accepting his true feelings. While he was nowhere near ready to tell anyone, he continued to add songs to his playlist. Songs that were were more blatant about feelings and even some that were specifically about boys who liked boys. He always made sure to set his listening to private, because he didn’t want any of his friends seeing what he was listening to.

But listening to those songs made him feel a certain way that he never had before. He was admitting to himself that he liked a boy, and that it was okay. Even though he wasn’t brave enough to say it out loud yet, he was still feeling it.

_See, half the time I'm wondering if this is real_  
_Why not say somethings on my mind if I feel love_  
_But when the moments right I freeze_  
_That's how I know my heart is his_

As they entered eighth grade and the two boys continued to grow closer, TJ kept adding songs, feeling bolder as he did so. There was a tiny part of him that wanted to throw all caution to the wind and send the playlist to Cyrus. TJ felt like he would never be able to express in words how he felt about the other boy, but he could let the music do the talking for him. However, every time that it felt like he took a step forward in his relationship with Cyrus, the universe threw something in their way and he was forced backwards again. 

After they started dating, TJ was thrilled to find that there was a whole new selection of songs that he could add to his playlist. Songs that were about feelings for someone that you were dating. Not just a crush but an actual relationship. When he listened to it, he could match the lyrics up to him and Cyrus perfectly, and it made him happier than music ever had before. 

_I'm trying not to fall for you_   
_ But falling seems so easy_   
_ My heart was locked, but boy you got the key to free me  
Invisible to love but boy you see me_

One day, when they were hanging out at Cyrus’ house, laying on the floor of his bedroom and working on homework, TJ put the playlist on shuffle. At some point, he had changed the title of the playlist to a simple heart emoji, and felt that it was sufficient enough. It was still set on private though. Even though they were both out and openly dating, he felt that too many of the songs on there were too closely tied to his personal feelings, and he wasn’t sure if he was ready for the whole world to know everything.

Cyrus was only half paying attention, as he nodded his head along to the songs that he recognized. Some of the newer ones on the playlist were suggestions he had made to TJ. it turned out that Cyrus had a much broader knowledge of LGBTQ artists, and he had managed to greatly broaden TJ’s musical horizons in that regard.

TJ paused in his homework and looked up at his boyfriend. He was scribbling something into his notebook, nose scrunched up in concentration. He looked really cute, TJ decided. Granted, he pretty much always thought that Cyrus looked cute, but he loved it when he was able to pause and appreciate it. As he watched Cyrus, his boyfriend quietly sang along to the lyrics of the songs that was playing, without seeming to notice.

_'Cause all I know is we said hello_   
_ And your eyes look like coming home  
All I know is a simple name, everything has changed_

That night, TJ agonized over his playlist, shifting songs around and deciding whether to leave some on or take them off. He had decided to send it to Cyrus. There were so many things he wanted to say to his boyfriend, but he had never been very good with words. Music was able to express what he was feeling much better, and by sharing this, he would be able to share how he felt. But he wanted it to be perfect.

After much deliberation, he looked it over, and then in a last-minute decision, he added ‘Born This Way’ as the first song. While the lyrics didn’t really have anything to do with their relationship, it was the first song that TJ had ever heard that was LGBTQ positive, and it was the first song they had ever sang together. He was sure that Cyrus would understand the meaning. Then, before he could lose his nerve, he sent the playlist to his boyfriend.

Cyrus was surprised to get the notification. TJ hadn’t mentioned anything about it, but the heart emoji as the title made his heart skip a little. It made him realize what kind of playlist it likely was, and he eagerly hit play. He smiled at the first song and the memories it evoked, before diving into the rest of the playlist. 

_Used to be bitter but you make me better now_   
_ There's something about your style  
Like I'm gonna stay a while_

_ My youth, my youth is yours  
A truth so loud you can't ignore _

_And every heart in the room will melt_   
_ This is a feeling I've never felt but  
It's all about us_

_I wanna hold hands with you _   
_ But that's all I wanna do right now  
And I wanna get close to you_

_You brought me closer to who I really am_   
_ Come take my hand  
I want the world to see what you mean to me_

_ Baby, I want the whole world to see  
Just how good your love looks on me _

_ Take my hand, take my whole life too  
For I can't help falling in love with you _

_You put your arms around me_   
_ And I believe that it's easier for you to let me go  
You put your arms around me and I'm home_

_But still I believe_   
_ That this you and me  
Will always be somewhere_

_What if it's you_   
_ And what if it's me_   
_ And what if that's all that we need it to be  
And the rest of the world falls away?_

By the time that Cyrus got to the end of the playlist, he was crying, but overwhelmed with happiness at the same time. A lot of the songs on the playlist were ones that he had listened to on his own with TJ in mind, but to know that TJ felt the same way was an incredible feeling. And a lot of them he hadn’t heard before, or had never thought that TJ would listen to and think of him. 

It was almost overwhelming, and he had to pause the music at several points just to collect himself. He didn’t know how to even begin to respond to TJ. After typing out and deleting several messages, he resigned himself to the fact that he didn’t know what to say. All he knew was that he would be relistening to the playlist as many times as he could.

The next day at school, TJ was waiting nervously by Cyrus’ locker. They normally met there, but TJ usually didn’t look so apprehensive. Cyrus then realized that because he couldn't think of what to say, he had never answered TJ the night before. And TJ had just sent him an incredibly emotionally open message through the playlist. So he marched right up to his boyfriend and before TJ could say anything, Cyrus wrapped him in a gigantic hug and buried his face in TJ’s chest.

“Hi,” he heard TJ say softly above him. 

“Thank you,” Cyrus mumbled into his shirt.

“Did you like the playlist?” TJ asked, sounding hesitant. Cyrus pulled back and looked TJ directly in the eye.

“It was amazing,” he said, causing his boyfriend to turn pink. 

“You didn’t say anything last night…” TJ trailed off. 

“I didn’t know what to say,” Cyrus explained. “It was...so much.”

“Not too much, I hope,” TJ said, sounding worried.

“No,” Cyrus reassured him. “It was perfect.”

TJ smiled, relaxing, and bent down to kiss him. 

Cyrus went back to listen to the playlist so many times that he practically had it memorized. TJ occasionally added new songs, and every time that he did, it was like another drop of warmth was added to Cyrus’ heart.

\--

While there were many differences between middle school and high school, there were a few things that were the same, as they found out the longer they were there. One of those things happened to be lunch - or at least the food that they were served for lunch. Apparently, both schools got their food supplies from the same place, so everything tasted the same as it did in middle school. While there were aspects of this that were definitely disappointing, there were some things that were great about it.

Or, at least from Cyrus’ point of view, the high school had the exact same chocolate chocolate chip muffins that he adored so much. And they tended to stock more of them at lunch, which meant he had a much better chance of getting one. Gone were the days of staring sadly as the pile dwindled away. At almost every lunch there were enough left for him to grab one. Sometimes, he even skipped getting one so that it would feel more like a treat later on. 

He found that TJ, however, was a little disappointed by this. For one thing, during eighth grade, he had made it a habit of grabbing Cyrus a muffin whenever it looked like he wouldn’t be able to get one. And while TJ didn’t mind the chocolate ones, he maintained that blueberry macadamia was the best muffin flavor of all time.

“They have blueberry up there,” Buffy said, rolling her eyes after hearing TJ complain about the lack of his favorite muffin.

“It’s not the same,” TJ protested. “The macadamia nut is what pulls it all together and makes it superior to plain blueberry.”

“But they’re also crazy expensive,” Buffy pointed out.

“Yeah, they’re not going to spend extra money so we can get fancy muffins,” Marty agreed through a mouthful of food, causing Buffy to give him a look.

“Why don’t you just make your own?” Jonah asked him.

“Because macadamia nuts are really expensive,” TJ mumbled, causing everyone to laugh.

As the conversation turned to something else, Cyrus couldn’t help reflecting on what TJ had said. Obviously, he knew about how much his boyfriend liked that particular kind of muffin - after all, muffins were their thing. 

(One of their things. They had a lot of things.)

And he had made those particular muffins for TJ after losing a bet with him back in eighth grade. He hadn’t minded - the fact that he and TJ had a _ thing _at the time when he was starting to realize that he had developed feelings for the other boy had made it more exciting to him. He hadn’t made them since though, since he didn’t have a reason to. Now, however, he was starting to get an idea.

That afternoon, instead of heading straight home, he stopped at the grocery store. Wincing slightly at the price tag, he grabbed the macadamia nuts and a few other ingredients that he wasn’t sure if they had at home. He had let his stepmother use up the rest of the nuts so that they didn’t go bad, so he knew they definitely needed more. Then he headed home and set up his ingredients in the kitchen.

While he didn’t have a ton of experience with baking, Cyrus had found that he was moderately good at it. As long as he was careful not to spill too much, and kept a close eye on the timer, he usually was pretty good at making baked goods. He got to work, and soon had the first batch in the oven. After making sure that his timer was set, he started cleaning up his mess.

“What are you making?” he heard from behind him, and turned to see his stepmother in the kitchen doorway.

“Muffins,” he said. “For TJ,” he elaborated when she looked confused.

“Ah,” she replied, giving him a knowing smile. While his parents generally didn’t tease him about his relationship like a lot of other parents did to their children, they had a tendency to give each other significant looks or smiles whenever he talked about his boyfriend. It was a little annoying at times, but he supposed he preferred it to actual teasing.

“Was there a bet this time?” she asked.

“Nope,” Cyrus replied, grabbing an oven mitt as his timer went off. “I just thought I’d do it to be nice.”

“Well, I’m sure he’ll love them,” she said, before heading into the living room.

When the muffins were finally finished and cooled off, he tried one first to make sure that it tasted fine. Satisfied with his work, he packed them up into a container and put them on the counter where he would remember to grab them the next morning. It was exciting, he reflected, being able to do stuff like this now. Before he and TJ had started dating, he always was overthinking how TJ would react to Cyrus giving him stuff, but now he didn’t have to worry.

The next day at school, Cyrus got there early and after grabbing his books from his locker, he ran over to TJ’s. The container of muffins was clenched tightly in his hands as he waited for his boyfriend to show up. However, TJ surprised him by coming up from behind and wrapping his arms around Cyrus.

“Whoa!” Cyrus cried out as a pair of arms wrapped around his shoulders and chest.

“Good morning,” TJ said, leaning in to give him a kiss on the cheek. “What’s that?”

“It’s for you,” Cyrus said, twisting around as TJ let go of him. 

“For me?” TJ repeated in confusion. Cyrus handed over the container and watched with barely contained excitement as his boyfriend peeled the lid back.

“Are these..?” he asked in surprise, looking up at Cyrus.

“Yep!” Cyrus replied. “Since you can’t get them here, I thought I’d make them for you.”

TJ looked down at the muffins again and then back up at Cyrus. The emotion in his eyes surprised Cyrus, who hadn’t expected that kind of response.

“You made this for me?” TJ asked quietly.

“Yes?” Cyrus said, feeling a little confused now at TJ’s reaction.

“You didn’t have to do that,” TJ said.

“I know,” Cyrus replied. “But I wanted to.”

A smile grew slowly over TJ’s face. He closed the lid, set the container down, and stepped in closer to draw Cyrus into a sweet kiss. When they broke apart, Cyrus’ face was red. They normally didn’t engage in much PDA in school, especially kissing. But TJ had poured a lot into that kiss, right there in the middle of the hallway.

“Thank you,” TJ said earnestly.

“You’re welcome,” Cyrus managed to squeak out. TJ bent back down to grab the muffins, and enthusiastically took a bite out of the top of one.

“Delicious,” he said, sounding muffled around the amount of muffin in his mouth. 

“Charming,” Cyrus replied, wrinkling his nose at TJ’s actions. “You’re as bad as Marty.” 

TJ just laughed and put the muffin container in his locker. Throwing his free arm around Cyrus, they headed towards the library to meet up with their friends. Later at lunch, TJ ended up sharing most of the muffins with the group, but Cyrus didn’t mind. He was just glad he was able to do something nice for his boyfriend. 


	4. Acts of Service

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was a little harder because they're teenagers and all the suggestions I found were for married adults haha. But out of all the love languages, this one is definitely Cyrus'.

_ Acts of Service: _

Despite the fact that many of his friends were involved with them, Cyrus still knew absolutely nothing about sports except that they required a lot of coordination and made the people who played them all hot and sweaty. However, he dutifully went to every game and match and meet (or whatever it was called - every sport seemed to be something different). He made signs and cheered them on, even when he had no idea what was happening in the game. 

It was harder in high school, since they were all so busy all the time, but at least most of the games were later after school, so Cyrus was able to go to some of them. However, it was harder for him to go to the away games, especially since he couldn’t drive. His friends reassured him that it was okay, but he still felt bad that he couldn’t always be there to support them.

And when it came to practices, he was almost never able to make it. While he didn’t watch every practice in middle school, he still came to most of Buffy’s and some of TJ’s, especially after they had started dating. But he got involved with the fall musical, and most of their rehearsals fell at the exact same time as the practices.

One afternoon, he ended up being free, so he headed down to the gym to see TJ practicing. High school basketball looked a lot different than middle school basketball. The nets were higher, the court was bigger, and the players were taller. Or, at least that’s what it seemed to him. There were a few other people hanging out in the bleachers, scattered around. A lot seemed to be girlfriends of the players. Cyrus settled himself in a bleacher, and proceeded to watch. 

While he knew absolutely nothing about basketball, it did seem to him that it was a lot more intense than anything that had happened in middle school. The players were moving a lot faster and more aggressively, and most of them were drenched in sweat. He spotted TJ amongst the group and smiled as he watched his boyfriend. He wasn’t great at telling good players from bad players (unless they were extremely bad) so he couldn’t really tell how TJ matched up against everyone else, but he seemed to be holding his own. 

At some point, he got a little bored watching the players run back and forth, and he pulled out his homework. He had a few chapters to read for English class, so he got to it, glancing up occasionally to see what was happening on the court. At one point, TJ caught his eye and grinned widely up at him. Cyrus grinned back, before returning to his book.

After practice was over, TJ jogged over to where Cyrus was sitting. He looked exhausted, and was covered in a thin sheen of sweat.

“Good practice?” Cyrus asked.

“Yeah, it was fine,” TJ panted out. He leaned over and rested with his hands on his knees.

“Do you need water?” Cyrus asked, holding out the extra bottle he had brought. TJ looked up in surprise.

“Yeah, thanks,” he said gratefully, taking it and chugging most of it in one go. “I haven’t had a chance to refill mine yet and - ”

He gestured to the line at the bubbler. His teammates were alternating between filling their bottles and squirting water at one another. 

“No problem,” Cyrus replied. “I have an energy bar too, if you want that.”

“Really?” TJ asked in surprise. “Yeah, that’d be great!” 

Cyrus pulled the bar out of his backpack and handed it over. TJ ripped it open and ripped a large chunk off with his teeth.

“You’re a lifesaver,” he said through a full mouth.

“Gross,” Cyrus commented, though a small smile crossed his lips.

“Why’d you bring all this stuff?” TJ asked after finally swallowing. 

Cyrus shrugged. “I’ve been to a lot of sports practices before, so I have a pretty good idea of what people need after them.”

“You know, you’d make a great team manager,” TJ said, moving to sit down next to Cyrus. “You’ve already got about half of it down.”

“Eh, it’s too much of a commitment,” the other boy said. “Plus, it would involve having to chase after balls, which I’m not great at doing. And I like most of those guys wouldn’t appreciate my efforts.”

TJ knew his teammates well enough to know that it was true for at least some of them. 

“Well, maybe I just want an excuse to have you around more,” he said instead, cocking an eyebrow at Cyrus. His boyfriend just smiled and TJ could see the pink blossoming in his cheeks.

“There are other excuses you can use for us to spend time together that don’t involve sports,” Cyrus countered. TJ just laughed in response.

“Hey, you don’t happen to have a towel in there as well, do you?” he asked jokingly. He had his own down on the bench, but he had forgotten to grab it when he came over by Cyrus.

Cyrus grinned in response and pulled a white towel out of his backpack. TJ’s eyebrows rose in surprise.

“Really?” he asked.

“I am nothing if not prepared,” Cyrus said proudly, handing it over. TJ wiped the sweat off of his face and then leaned in for a kiss.

“Nope!” Cyrus countered, spinning his face away, nose scrunched up. “You smell! Shower first, then kisses.” 

TJ heaved a mock sigh of annoyance but stood up anyways. “Fine. At least I’ll be first in line since I don’t have to wait in the water line.”

He moved to step down off the bleachers, but turned quickly first and pressed a tiny peck to the top of Cyrus’ forehead. Ignoring his boyfriend’s complaints about the smell, he grinned and bounded off to the locker room. 

\--------

Cyrus was the type to never miss school, so when he didn’t show up on Monday, he found his phone flooded with messages from his friends asking where he was. However, he didn’t see any of them until about eleven, which is when he woke up for the second time that morning. His head felt like it was filled with stuffing, his whole body ached, and he couldn’t stop sniffling. Overall, he felt completely miserable. He had considered trying to go to school - for his perfect attendance record if nothing else - but his mother had taken one look at him and steered him back into bed. As soon as his head hit the pillow, he was out.

Now, he shuffled downstairs, a blanket wrapped around his shoulders. His mother had left a note on the kitchen table next to a bottle of medicine, letting him know there was orange juice and leftovers in the fridge. He poured himself a glass and grabbed a granola bar from the cabinet before making his way to the couch in the living room. 

Once settled, he pulled out his phone to let everyone know he was out sick. He was flooded with ‘hope you feel better’ and ‘that sucks’ messages, which made him feel a little bit better. Turning on the TV, he tried to find something to watch, but daytime television was not great. Switching over to Netflix, he pulled up a documentary that he had seen before and let it lull him to sleep.

He woke up a few hours later, groggy and not feeling any better. The documentary had ended, and the TV was off. He checked his phone and was surprised to find that it was already two in the afternoon. He couldn’t remember the last time he had slept that much in a day. As he became more awake and aware, he realized several things. Since it was only two, none of his parents would be home from work yet, and he wasn’t sick enough to warrant them being home with him. Someone had turned off the TV. There were distinct rattling noises in the kitchen. And…he was pretty sure he could smell something cooking. Also, an additional blanket had been thrown over him while he slept. 

He strained to listen, trying to figure out who it was that was in the house with him. He probably should have been more worried, but he figured that it was unlikely that a burglar broke in and decided to make him more comfortable before making a snack. But he didn’t have to wait for long. A few minutes later, TJ strolled into the living room, holding a bowl of something. 

“Oh good, you’re awake,” he said, setting the bowl gently down on the coffee table.

“Teej?” Cyrus asked in confusion. “What are you doing here? Why aren’t you in school?”

“I ditched,” TJ shrugged casually, perching on the edge of the couch next to Cyrus. Seeing the outraged look on his boyfriend’s face, he held up his hands in defense.

“I’m only missing gym and study hall!” he protested. “And it’s practically impossible for me to fail gym.”

Cyrus was too tired to argue the point. “But why are you here?”

“You’re sick?” TJ said, sounding confused. “I wanted to make sure you’re okay.”

“I’m fine,” Cyrus said, trying to sit up, but failing to make it very far. A concerned look crossed TJ’s face, and he gently pushed Cyrus back into the pillows.

“Don’t overexert yourself,” he said. “Have you eaten anything recently?”

“I had...a granola bar,” Cyrus said. TJ waited, as though expecting something else. “That’s all.”

His boyfriend looked concerned and leaned over to grab the bowl. “I made you some soup,” he said, placing it carefully on Cyrus’ lap. 

“I didn’t know we had soup,” Cyrus replied, looking at it. Chicken noodle. It smelled amazing.

“You don’t,” TJ said, looking a little sheepish. “I, uh, picked it up on my way over. Actually, I brought a lot of things.”

“You did?” Cyrus said in surprise. 

“Well, I didn’t know exactly what you were sick with, so I brought a lot of stuff.”

He stood up, pointed at the soup, and then headed back into the kitchen. When he returned, he had the bottle of medicine and a grocery bag.

“Did you take any yet?” he asked. Cyrus shook his head as his mouth was full of soup. TJ set it down on the coffee table and plopped the grocery bag on the floor. As Cyrus continued to eat, he watched as TJ pulled out an assortment of items.

Cough drops, tissues, hard candy, a science magazine, and even a little stuffed dinosaur that Cyrus eagerly grabbed for after putting his empty soup bowl aside. TJ looked a little sheepish at his haul.

“I didn’t really know what to get, so I just got everything I could think of to make you feel better,” he explained.

“You didn’t have to do all of this,” Cyrus said as he cuddled with the stuffed toy.

“Well, I wanted you to feel better,” TJ said. “I know how much it sucks to be sick.”

“It is making me feel better,” Cyrus said. “Not really physically, but I’m happy you’re here.”

TJ smiled, looking a little bashful. Clearing his throat, he turned to grab the medicine.

“You should probably take some of this,” he said. Cyrus reluctantly set down his dinosaur and measured himself out a serving. After pulling a face at the bitter taste, he grabbed a hard candy to wash the flavor out of his mouth. 

“Do you wanna watch something?” Cyrus asked. “I’m not really feeling up to anything else.”

“I wasn’t expecting you to be,” TJ chuckled. “Are you sure you don’t want to sleep any more?” 

“I’ve spent half the day asleep,” Cyrus replied. “I’m fine right now.” He pushed himself up and gestured behind him. With some wiggling and adjusting, TJ managed to squish himself onto the couch so that he was lying behind Cyrus, with the other boy relaxed against him. Cyrus turned his documentary back on and snuggled up to his boyfriend. TJ’s arms wrapped around him, and Cyrus rested his head on TJ’s chest. The combination of sleep, food, and medicine had helped him feel a little bit better, and having his boyfriend cuddling with him made it even better. 

He felt TJ’s lips press into the top of his head, and he smiled at the feeling. As the narrator began the intro again, Cyrus was almost able to forget that he didn’t feel good.

To his slight dismay, he found himself being shaken awake a little while later. Once again, the TV was off, but this time he woke to TJ wrapped around him. 

“Did I fall asleep again?” he croaked out.

“Yup,” TJ replied, and Cyrus could hear the smile in his voice. “But I think you needed it.”

“Ugh,” he groaned, turning to face his boyfriend. TJ was smiling gently at him, and leaned forward to peck Cyrus on the forehead.

“Careful,” Cyrus warned him. “I don’t want to get you sick.”

“I think we’re a little past that,” TJ laughed. Then Cyrus realized that he could hear other noises in the kitchen.

“Are my parents home?” he asked in surprise. “What time is it?”

“Yes, and almost five,” TJ told him. Cyrus groaned and dropped his head down onto TJ’s chest again.

“I can’t believe how much I’ve slept today.”

“Your body just needed the rest,” TJ told him. “It’s fine.”

Just then, Cyrus’ mom poked her head in the living room.

“Oh, good you’re awake. How are you feeling, sweetie?” she asked as she came over to feel his forehead. Cyrus became very aware that he was cuddled up with his boyfriend, and that she and his stepfather had presumably come home to find them like that.

“Better,” he said hastily, trying to sit up.

“Well, you’re still flushed and don’t sound too great,” she said. “Why don’t you try having supper and then head upstairs to get some sleep?”

Cyrus nodded in agreement, and managed to untangle himself from TJ. His boyfriend seemed supremely unconcerned about the fact that his mom had seen them cuddling. So did his mother, for that point.

“Are you staying for dinner, TJ?” she asked him with a smile.

“If it’s no trouble,” he said politely. 

“Of course not!” she said. 

So Cyrus headed to the kitchen, TJ gently grabbing his elbow to steady him as he was still unsteady on his feet. Even though he had slept so much already that day, he could feel himself nodding throughout the meal, and was happy to listen to his stepdad asking TJ how school was going. As soon as he was done eating, his mother directed him to head upstairs. TJ followed him after grabbing the extra blankets and his new stuffed dinosaur from the living room.

“Text me tomorrow to let me know how you feel,” TJ told him as Cyrus collapsed into bed.

“No skipping tomorrow,” Cyrus told him, trying to sound stern. TJ just smiled, handed him the dinosaur, and leaned in to kiss him on the forehead again. Cyrus wanted to protest in defense of TJ’s health, but his eyes were already drifting shut. He didn’t hear TJ leave, but woke the next morning to a series of texts in which TJ had told him to feel better. He already felt less sick than he had the previous day, and the memory of TJ taking care of him made it even better. 

\--------

TJ groaned and let his head drop forward onto his math notebook. He had been working on his assignment for what felt like hours, and he still wasn’t done. While the techniques that his tutor gave him were helpful, it still took him a long time to get through each problem, and he still didn’t know for sure if he did them right. Cyrus looked up at the noise from his cross-legged position on TJ’s bed where he was reading a book. 

“Do you need help?” he asked.

“No,” TJ grumbled. “I’m just tired.”

“How many do you have left?” Cyrus asked. 

“...five,” TJ replied after counting.

“That’s not too bad,” Cyrus said. 

“It’s still five too many,” TJ whined. He knew he was being ridiculous, but he just wanted to be done.

“How about....for every problem that you finish, I’ll give you a kiss?” Cyrus suggested. TJ’s head shot up immediately.

“Where was that suggestion when I started this?” he asked. “I would’ve been done a long time ago.”

“Because you need to focus and not rush through them,” Cyrus said. He settled back in with his book. “Let me know when you get the next one done.

Energy reinvigorated, TJ turned back to his homework. The promise of kisses had done wonders for his motivation, and he soon was done with the next problem.

“Kiss time,” he announced, and Cyrus leaned over to oblige him. With that method in place, he was able to finish his math and he slammed the book shut with satisfaction. He then transferred himself over to the bed, where he kissed Cyrus again, and then flopped down spread-eagle, with his head resting on Cyrus’ legs.

“Finally,” he exclaimed, closing his eyes and letting his body relax. Above him, he could feel Cyrus shifting and leaning over. Papers rustled, but he was too exhausted to open his eyes and see what his boyfriend was doing. He could hear pencil scratching lightly on paper, and TJ let himself rest for a little while longer before curiosity finally got the best of him. Opening his eyes and turning his head, he saw that Cyrus was going over his math problems.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“Checking your work,” Cyrus replied, intent on his job. 

“You don’t have to do that,” TJ said, sitting up all the way. Cyrus looked at him in surprise.

“I don’t mind,” he said. “I know you worked really hard on this, so I just wanted to see if there were any mistakes.”

“Yeah, but that’s not your job,” TJ protested. “I can have my tutor do that.”

“I don’t mind,” Cyrus said, smiling softly. He leaned over and kissed TJ again. While TJ definitely wasn’t complaining about that, he felt a little bad that Cyrus was doing extra work. Before he could say anything else though, Cyrus handed him the notebook back.

“Here, I circled the ones that you should recheck,” he said. “You’re pretty close on most of them, but just missed one or two things.”

TJ pulled his notebook onto his lap and took the proffered pencil. After a few minutes of work, he was able to identify his mistakes and fix his answers. Feeling much more confident than he had before, he tossed his notebook over in the general direction of his backpack and settled back down with his head on Cyrus’ lap. Cyrus returned to his book, and TJ felt himself relaxing again.

“You’re too good to me,” he said to Cyrus. The other boy just laughed.

“I don’t mind helping you out with math,” he said.

“Yeah, but it’s a pain,” TJ replied. “I really do appreciate it.” He opened his eyes to see Cyrus smiling down at him.

“I’m happy to help,” Cyrus said.

“Honestly, just do the kissing thing again and I’ll get all my homework done with no complaining,” TJ mumbled as he let his eyes drift shut again. He could feel Cyrus chuckling as he picked up his book and resumed reading. 

\------

One weekend, Cyrus found himself at the public library, sitting at a table in the corner with books, papers, and highlighters spread everywhere. He had a huge history project due the following week, and he was trying to get as much done on it as possible. It wasn’t a super difficult project - it just had a lot of parts and it was pretty time consuming. He found that being in a place like the library instead of his bedroom felt more ‘studious’ and he got more work done there. There was something about being surrounded by books that just made him feel academic.

He had gotten there as soon as the library had opened so that he was able to stake out a good spot. It was usually pretty busy on Saturdays since most people were off work and school, and he had to fight for a good spot to work sometimes. But today he had gotten his preferred table, and had gotten right to work. He put his phone on silent, put in his earbuds, and was soon lost to the rest of the world.

When he got immersed in projects, he tended to be of a single-minded focus. He easily ignored the movement of the other library patrons around him and was only concentrated on his project. Time slipped away quickly, and it was only when his stomach started growling that he looked at the time and was shocked to see that it was past lunch already. He glanced around the library, weighing his options. There were quite a few people there, and he was worried that if he left to get something to eat, his table would be gone. And he only had a little bit left to work on for what he wanted to get accomplished that day. Cursing the fact that he hadn’t thought to bring something to eat, he steeled himself to powering through and getting a late lunch. Before he got back to work though, he allowed himself a quick break to check his texts. A few of his friends asked him if he wanted to meet up at the Spoon, and it was with great regret that he declined, saying that he wanted to finish his project first.

He soon found himself lost in his work again, and was only startled out of it then a bag plopped down in front of him. The Spoon’s trademark logo was on it, and the familiar, tantalizing scent of baby taters wafted from it. He looked up in surprise to see TJ standing in front of him. He pulled out his earbuds and whispered,

“What are you doing here?”

TJ sat down in the seat across from him. “I figured you would want something to eat, so I brought some over for you.”

“Really?” Cyrus asked in surprise, pulling the bag towards him. Inside was a burger, a small container of baby taters, and a milkshake. 

“Well, I know how you can get when you get into study mode,” TJ said. “And I know you like to have a good spot here, so I figured that’s why you didn’t come to the Spoon. So, I figured I would bring the Spoon to you.”

Cyrus’ stomach grumbled audibly as he continued to inhale the smells from the bag.

“Thank you so much,” Cyrus breathed in gratitude as he shifted his papers to the side to avoid them getting greasy, and eagerly pulled the food out. He put the baby taters between them and started to devour his hamburger. It was as delicious as it smelled, and he groaned with delight. 

TJ just chuckled and helped himself to some taters. It was quiet between them as Cyrus ate, but it was a comfortable silence. TJ flipped one of Cyrus’ articles towards himself and began to read it. After Cyrus had finished eating, they gathered all the garbage and made sure to clean up their mess. 

“You are literally the best,” Cyrus declared once they were sitting again. “I thought I was going to have to starve today.”

“It was no big deal,” TJ shrugged. “I was already there, and I know you wouldn’t have missed coming to the Spoon unless it was important. Plus, it gave me an excuse to come see you.”

He waggled his eyebrows at Cyrus, who laughed in response. 

“Well, I really appreciate it,” he said earnestly. “And I don’t have too much left to do here. Once I’m finished, we can go hang out for real.”

And so he got to work, while TJ wandered the stacks and eventually came back with a book. When Cyrus had finished, he packed everything up and they went over to the front desk so TJ could check out the book he had grabbed, as it ended up being interesting enough that he wanted to continue reading it. 

Outside, they strolled along, hand in hand. They didn’t have a destination in mind, but they figured that it didn’t matter, as long as they could spend some time together. 


	5. Physical Touch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If acts of service are Cyrus' primary love language, then TJ's is definitely physical touch.

_ Physical Touch: _

Even before they had started dating, Cyrus had noticed that TJ was a touchy person. Or, at least he was to Cyrus. He often threw an arm around Cyrus’ shoulders, clapped him on the back, pulled him in for a bro hug, or would just casually lean against him at times. At first, Cyrus didn’t really think anything of it. Most of his thoughts around TJ involved him trying to figure out how to make him and Buffy get along, while puzzling over why TJ wanted to be friends with him in the first place.

But then Cyrus started to realize that he was developing a crush on TJ. And all the touching took on a different meaning. He felt goosebumps erupt when his hand brushed against TJ’s. An arm over the shoulder sent a shiver down his spine. When TJ pulled him in for a bro hug, he couldn’t help but notice how warm TJ’s hand felt when it was briefly clasped in his own, and he wasn’t sure if he was imagining things when it seemed like TJ was lingering in their embrace just a little longer than necessary.

And once he realized this, he also felt like he had to be careful. As far as he knew (or had assumed at the time), TJ was straight. And while Cyrus enjoyed the touches and the closeness, he was worried that TJ would feel uncomfortable with it if he knew Cyrus was gay, let alone that he had a crush on him as well. So, he tried to make sure that he wasn’t doing anything outside of the approved ‘bro’ touching that other guys seemed to operate by. 

But TJ made that difficult. It seemed like he was always initiating some kind of physical contact with Cyrus, and Cyrus didn’t want to pull away from it. Part of him couldn’t help but wonder and hope, but he kept those thoughts pushed away safely. TJ was just a touchy person. It didn’t necessarily mean anything. 

But then it did. Sitting on the bench, it felt like they were miles away from one another at first. The chasm that had developed between them and their friendship by Kira’s interference still hung between them, hovering in the air, daring them to cross it. Cyrus had been burned too many times already, and he was tired of getting his hopes up, only to have them shattered by reality. As he watched the firelight flicker over TJ’s face, he wanted to move closer, but he was too scared to do so. 

And then TJ’s eyes flickered down to where Cyrus’ hand rested on the bench, and his own hand started to move slowly towards it, crossing the chasm just a little bit. And Cyrus’ heart leapt as he realized what was happening. He could hear it in TJ’s voice, and he still asked, just to make sure. And then TJ flicked his fingers forward in a movement that could have been casual, but it caused his hand to move even closer to Cyrus’, the backs of his fingertips grazing Cyrus’ skin. It was such a simple movement, but goosebumps covered Cyrus’ body as a result. 

And with one solid, determined movement, TJ reached his hand all the way over and slid his fingers between Cyrus’. It felt right; it was like their hands were made to fit perfectly together. As they looked at each other and both breathed out laughs of relief, Cyrus knew that the memory of that moment would be ingrained in his mind forever. He wasn’t sure how long they sat there, fingers entwined, the cold air nipping at their faces. It didn’t matter in the end. Because TJ’s hand was in his, TJ’s thumb was rubbing small circles on the back of his own, and they were together. 

They didn’t talk a lot that night. But they didn’t have to. They would have time in the days and weeks and months to come to talk, to work things out, and to make everything right again between them. In that moment in that night, all that mattered was their hands clasped between them, and everything that had remained unsaid over the past how many months now didn’t matter. 

Because TJ wasn’t one to talk about his feelings, and Cyrus knew that. He knew the other boy well enough by now to know that him reaching out to hold hands spoke volumes all by itself, and in that moment, it was all that he needed.

\--------

Before Cyrus, TJ would have never considered himself a romantic person. Although, before Cyrus, he never had a reason to be romantic. But being with the other boy brought out a side of himself that he didn’t realize existed. He wanted to get gifts for Cyrus that represented how he felt about him, he wanted to hold hands all the time, and listen to sappy songs that reminded him of the other boy. It took more self control than he expected to not post pictures of Cyrus on social media with heart emojis and a hundred exclamation points because he wanted the world to see how cute his boyfriend was. 

There were quite a few romantic things that he had considered to be annoying when he saw other couples doing them, that he now wanted to do with Cyrus. He figured that part of the reason that he had been annoyed by them was because he felt like he would never have someone to do those things with. But that was all different now, and it was taking him some time to get used to it. 

One thing though that he was able to get used to right away was cuddling. Aside from when he was a kid and he would cuddle up with his mom, he had never actually cuddled with anyone before. He had been envious of people who had friends or significant others that they would just snuggle up with when watching a movie or just relaxing together. It was something he always wanted but never had.

That all changed when he started dating Cyrus though. As it turned out, Cyrus loved cuddling, and would take any opportunity to do so. Given the close friendship that Cyrus had with Buffy and Andi, the three of them would be constantly draped over one another. They hugged each other and flopped legs over one another with ease. More than once, he had seen them dogpile on top of one another on a couch or even the floor, giggling and shoving. 

TJ wasn’t sure how to approach it - could he just ask if they could cuddle? But Cyrus just took matters into his own hands. The first time they cuddled, they were in Cyrus’ bedroom, looking for a movie to watch. When they had settled on one, TJ settled himself on top of the pile of pillows that Cyrus had arranged on his bed, as Cyrus got the movie going. With the opening scene blaring, Cyrus clambered onto the bed and immediately snuggled up to TJ, resting his head against TJ’s chest. He did it so casually that it took TJ by surprise. But he wrapped his arm around Cyrus and pulled him in closer. They spent the entire movie like that, and TJ was pretty sure he had never been more comfortable in his life.

After that, it seemed like they were cuddling whenever they had the chance. Cyrus would snuggle up to TJ if he was sitting on a couch or other comfy type of chair. When they were at the Spoon, he would often lean up against TJ in the booth. Sometimes he would fling his legs over TJ’s lap and TJ would find himself tracing patterns on Cyrus’ knee. TJ’s absolute favorite thing however, was when he would rest his head in Cyrus’ lap and Cyrus would start playing with his hair. This would only happen if he didn’t have a lot of hair gel in that day, but whenever it did happen, he would find his eyes drifting close as Cyrus’ fingers gently ran through his hair. It was the most soothing sensation he had ever experienced, and he had fallen asleep from it on more than one occasion. 

All in all, TJ decided that cuddling was his new favorite activity. He got to spend time with his favorite person, and he got to feel warm and comfortable while doing so. 

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It was coming up on two months since they had gotten together, and Cyrus was starting to worry a little bit. Things between him and TJ were great; they went on dates, held hands all the time, and spent as much time together as possible. But they had been dating for two months and they hadn’t kissed yet. 

The concept of kissing wasn’t a foreign one to him; he had kissed Iris twice after all. The first time had been fine, at least in his opinion. She had initiated it and it had been exciting to say that he had been kissed for the first time. The second one had been nothing short of a disaster, which was entirely his own fault. Not only was he doubting their relationship and his feelings towards her (and all girls in general), but he hadn’t put any real effort into making it a decent kiss, and it just left him feeling confused and embarrassed. 

He also wasn’t sure if he should even count those kisses as his “first kiss.” He liked Iris a lot - they were still friends and he had no ill will towards her. But considering the fact that he wasn’t actually attracted to girls, he didn’t know if he should consider that kiss to be real or not. And once he figured out that he was gay, the thought of kissing a boy gave him butterflies in a way that his previous kisses never had.

And now he had a boyfriend. Which was incredible. And they held hands and went on dates and did all the romantic stuff. But they hadn’t kissed yet. Cyrus knew that TJ had never dated anyone before him, and while he hadn’t asked, he felt like it was safe to assume that TJ hadn’t kissed anyone either. Which meant that  _ Cyrus  _ was the more experienced of the two of them, which felt like a joke. But it also meant that he should be taking the lead in the kissing.

It was daunting, and the memory of the kiss he initiated with Iris kept cropping up every time he thought about kissing. He was lucky he didn’t smash noses with her or manage to injure her in some other way. He had gone in for the kiss rather forcefully. And both times that they had kissed, it had been a romantic setting, and she had been giving him some pretty strong nonverbal hints that she wanted to kiss him. 

There were moments when he could have kissed TJ. He knew that. They had cuddled up on the couch to watch movies countless times. They had said goodbye after dates. They had sat and talked, opening up about personal topics and things they were vulnerable about. Any of those times would have been perfect for a kiss, but Cyrus had chickened out each time. 

After mulling it over for a ridiculous amount of time, Cyrus finally decided that he was just going to do it. He knew that the longer he waited, the more anxiety-inducing it would become, and he would likely psych himself out. Part of him wanted to wait to see if TJ would initiate it, but considering how confident and bold his boyfriend was, he knew that TJ would have done it already. Unless he didn’t want to kiss Cyrus? That thought had cropped up more than once, but Cyrus knew that it was his low self-esteem talking. If TJ didn’t like him, he wouldn’t be dating him. It was as simple as that. 

The opportunity ended up presenting itself one day when they were at the park. It was one of those unusually warm days in February, and they decided to enjoy the outdoors before it inevitably got cold again. They had found their way to the swings as was their custom, and after wiping off melted snow, they started swinging. It felt freeing to have the wind rushing against his face and not being stinging cold. Beside him, TJ was working himself up to heights that Cyrus was still scared to reach. And sure enough, TJ launched himself off the swing not long after. Cyrus just laughed at his boyfriend’s actions. He knew that TJ disliked winter because it was harder to do stuff outside, so he was enjoying the nicer weather. 

After swinging for a little while longer and chattering aimlessly for a bit, TJ jumped off again and started pushing Cyrus. As he flew through the air, Cyrus shrieked with delight. TJ ran underneath him as he gave him an underdog and turned to grin back at him. As Cyrus slowed to a stop, TJ reached out to grab the chains to help slow him down. Cyrus came to a complete stop, with TJ hanging onto the chains above him. They were so close, and Cyrus realized how easy it would be to push up off the swing and kiss TJ.

So he did.

It was short and gentle and perfect. There were no fireworks or other signs that something new and wonderful had happened, but it had. TJ smelled like fresh air and his lips were soft against Cyrus’. As Cyrus pulled away, he took in TJ’s reaction. The other boy’s eyes were closed and they fluttered open as Cyrus pulled back. TJ’s cheeks were pink, but Cyrus couldn’t tell if it was from the wind or the kiss. He watched as TJ smiled at him, almost bashfully, which was not a look he saw often on his boyfriend’s face. TJ reached out and intertwined his fingers with Cyrus’, and his grin grew even wider. They stood there for a few moments, staring into one another’s eyes as they took in what had just happened. 

Then TJ leaned in, and Cyrus felt his own eyes shutting as TJ returned the kiss. Cyrus didn’t really remember much about what happened the rest of the day, but it didn’t matter. He had gotten his first kiss with his boyfriend. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And it's done! Thank you to everyone who left kudos or comments. I'm glad people enjoyed reading this story. I had fun writing it, and it was a nice way to explore what their relationship would be like after they got together.


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